Towards an Indian GAIA-X: A civil society-led data infrastructure for democratic digital sovereignty

Time of India

10 hours ago

Nivedita is lawyer and company secretary by training and holds a masters in public policy from Princeton University's School of Public and International Affairs.
Context and rationale
India's digital economy is marked by increasing centralization of data and platform control, with a handful of private actors – both domestic and global – exerting monopolistic influence over critical digital infrastructure. Such a centralization of data and platform power poses the following risks:
Asymmetrical power relations between platforms and users, workers, and small businesses;
Lack of interoperability and open standards, stifling competition and innovation;
A vacuum of public accountability in data governance frameworks.
This provides the imperative for public-interest alternatives that embed democratic values into data architecture, moving away from extractive, black-box models.
Enter the European Union's GAIA-X
GAIA-X is a European-led initiative that seeks to create a federated, open, and interoperable data infrastructure, not controlled by any single corporation, but shaped by a consortium of governments, civil society, and enterprises. Its architecture is built on trust, transparency, portability, and open standards, enabling data sovereignty within a competitive and inclusive ecosystem.
Why India needs a GAIA-X-type initiative
India could benefit immensely from a similar initiative that:
Redefines data governance as a public infrastructure concern, not a purely market-driven or state-controlled project.
Provides neutral digital infrastructure for small businesses, cooperatives, nonprofits, and worker platforms—who are otherwise dependent on Big Tech platforms with exploitative terms.
Establishes certifiable, independently governed protocols for data interoperability, portability, and privacy.
Supports community data stewardship models, particularly in agriculture, health, urban governance, and employment.
Current landscape: Are there Indian equivalents?
India has witnessed a few attempts that are fragmented, top-down approaches toward data infrastructure. These include:
IndiaStack (Aadhaar, DigiLocker, UPI): A state-led, centralized digital identity and service delivery stack. While innovative, its control rests heavily with the state and lacks independent governance mechanisms.
Data empowerment and protection architecture (DEPA) : A promising but framework to enable user-consented data sharing via Account Aggregators. While DEPA introduces a federated structure, its current applications are mainly on financial and health data, and operational control is largely private-sector-led.
ONDC (open network for digital commerce) : A government-backed initiative to create an open, interoperable network for e-commerce. It promotes decentralization, but lacks strong civil society or worker group participation in governance.
IndiaAI and India datasets program
: These lean toward centralized curation and monetization of public data rather than enabling democratic participation or enforcing open standards.
Thus, India does not yet have an equivalent to GAIA-X—a multi-stakeholder, independently governed, and open protocol-based public data infrastructure initiative.
Challenges to GAIA-X model adoption in India
Political-Economic Barriers
: India's data governance model currently favors state centralization and techno-solutionism, rather than decentralization or cooperative ownership models. There is limited institutional support for civil society-led standard setting, especially in digital infrastructure. Market Resistance
. Dominant platforms will resist interoperability and open protocols, as these reduce vendor lock-in and profit margins. The political economy of 'free' services has deeply entrenched monopolistic platforms. Policy & legislative incoherence
. Fragmented digital policies and industry favourable laws (e.g., IT Rules, DPDP Act, data localization mandates) lack a unified framework to support open, federated architectures.
Enabling frameworks: Legal and policy levers
Despite the challenges, India has potential legal scaffolding to enable a GAIA-X-style initiative:
Framework Relevance Digital personal data protection (DPDP) act, 2023
Offers a legal basis for data processing and protection; can be expanded to mandate data portability and interoperability. Competition act (2002, amended 2023)
The CCI has started investigating digital market dominance; this momentum can be leveraged to promote pro-competitive, open data infrastructures. National data governance framework policy (2022 Draft)
Proposes non-personal data governance, though still state-centric; can be reformed to include public-interest data trusts and open standards. Open network for digital commerce (ONDC)
Offers a template for open protocol development and federated governance—yet needs broader civil society participation and legal anchoring.
Path forward
To adapt the GAIA-X model in India, the following steps are essential:
Convene a civil society-led coalition (legal experts, technologists, nonprofit actors, worker representatives) to define open standards for key data sectors (health, mobility, education, etc.).
Pilot sector-specific data commons under democratic governance structures—e.g., worker-owned mobility platforms or farmer-led agri-data cooperatives.
Advocate for amendments in DPDP rules and sectoral data policies to recognize open, federated data infrastructures as essential public utilities.
Push for independent regulators or data stewardship boards that certify and enforce compliance with open standards, fair data sharing practices, and privacy by design.
Engage with global counterparts (e.g., GAIA-X, Solid, DECODE) to build international solidarity for decentralized, democratic digital futures.
Conclusion
India's digital future must not be confined to binaries of state control vs. corporate monopolies. A third path—rooted in open standards, participatory governance, and legal accountability—is both possible and necessary. As Pacta's research argues, structural reforms in the platform economy must be matched by technical infrastructure that redistributes power, not just data.
A GAIA-X-like initiative in India can catalyze this shift, provided it is civil society–led, independently governed, and legally embedded in constitutional values of equality, privacy, and access.
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Views expressed above are the author's own.